Oil industry tax slammed by MPs

A new levy to be imposed on the gas and oil industry has faced heavy criticism from MPs.

The Energy and Climate Change Select Committee report described the Treasury's decision to increase a levy on the gas and oil industry by £2 billion as an "opportunistic raid".

It also claimed that the way the new tax was introduced will have undermined investor confidence in an environment when everything possible must be done to sustain it.

"If the government is serious about maximising production from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), it needs to consider the long-term impact of changes to the tax regime on investment," the report stated.

MPs claimed that the government must do more to build constructive relationships with the oil industry in order to maximise the benefits gained.

Recently, energy minister Fergus Ewing claimed that half of the North Sea oil reserves are still waiting to be extracted.